June 7th & surrounding days (WARNING...LONG!!!)

Six Flags World’s of Adventure (hey, I had to start by going west anyway). I arrived around 10:15am and headed toward my objective, trying Raging Wolf Bobs with the Gerstlauer train.

Yes, it was up and running, one of two coasters operating at that moment, the other being Big Dipper (though there was a line forming for Serial Thriller, and B:KF looked like it was out for the count for a while, no action in the station). As I walked into the station the most obvious thing was the lack of bodies waiting for the ride, so I proceeded to the front seat. My train left with a half load, and I noticed no real difference…that is, until we crested the hill. Ouch, ouch ouch, ow, ooo, ow, ouch, ow, ow…oh, what happened.

I owe a BIG apology to the PTC trailer trains. Apparently, it wasn’t the trains that were causing my years of distress on this ride, RWB really is a coaster in need of major renovation, as the retracking of the second half proves. Second half…glass smooth, first half…unridable, especially with the unforgiving pieces of crap know as Gerstlauer Wooden Coaster Rolling Stock (and this coming from their name the coaster winner). It makes me wonder what Villain would be like with PTC’s.

As if the first beating wasn’t enough, I walked around to subject myself to yet another beating, but this time in the second to last seat (why not the back? Come on, I’m not a masochist). After an even more painful ride, I then walked over to the large yellow chain separating me from my other objective, The Villain.

Apparently, we really need to give more money toward education, as pre-teen after pre-teen stepped over or ducked under the big yellow chain that was across the midway, only to be surprised when an employee would stop them and send them back (of course a few adults tried this too). I’m not even sure who to really blame here. Should it be the pre-teens…the yuppie couple that ignored the chain…the employee setting up his game that saw all this happening, but figured it wasn’t his job to stop them…the employees coming toward us that ignored it and walked right by? I’m really not sure. The dodgem employees knew better and sent everyone back, and so did the maintenance staff. It’s amazing none of the others knew what to do, or why those that went past the chain never questioned the rest of us as to why we stopped at it. Oh well, it didn’t really matter since after the chain was dropped (a full two minutes after they dropped the chain on the other side of the arcade) everyone waited in line at the entrance to The Villain for another 15 minutes.

Once The Villain came up with its one train operation, I had a one train wait for the second to the last seat (do you see a pattern here?). I love this ride, but after my RWB experience, I now despised the Gerstlauer rolling stock, realizing how much better this ride could be (and for some reason it never bothered me before…I just assumed the ride should be rough).

After the ride, I looked at my watch…11:30am, the time I had set for myself to leave for PKI. But what about B:KF? Still not up. Oh well, the park is only an hour from home and I have a season pass.

The drive to PKI, or more specifically, the Microtel just outside the park, was uneventful. After checking in, I decided to stop at the Skyline Chili just across the street. I’ve heard great things about Skyline from ShiveringTim, but I wasn’t overly impressed. However, I’m willing to give them another chance on a future visit. Now it was time to head over to PKI, for a sunny, slightly warm Friday night…and to my dismay “BRING A FRIEND FOR FREE “ day. Okay in all fairness, I remembered after entry that I had read about this on their website, I just forgot. Oh well, I’m there, time to make the best of it.

After circling the park twice, I decided that I could either people watch, or try to ride something, so after a circuit on the PKI & MV RR, I headed to The Racer, which wasn’t. Just seems to me that if you call a coaster The Racer, you probably should race, but that’s just me, I guess. I figured I was in for about a half hour wait for the backward side, boy was I wrong. Ten minutes later I was enjoying the (you guessed it) second to last seat (or is that the second to the front seat since it’s what used to be the front of the train…it’s so confusing). Well, at least I knew where I was spending the evening. After three rides, I decided to take a look at Adventure Express. Full ques. Oh well, what else did I have to do? Now, I had waited full que in one of its early years with three train operation, and I remember a half hour wait. However, this night full que, with two train operation ended up being 15 minutes. Again, I was a happy camper. After AE I went back to The Racer for another three rides, and noticed a slight bit of moisture starting to fall from the sky on my final ride.

I wasn’t going to let a sprinkle stop me from having fun. Unfortunately, neither was the rest of the paying public. I decided to check out Top Gun, figuring the worst, but again, what else was I going to do. After the looong walk back, I found a line that, on closing day of last year, was about a 40 minute wait with one train operation. Since they are running two trains again, I figured that would cut my time down a bit. In truth, I could have been on in 20 minutes, but I really like the front seat on this coaster, so I decided to wait the extra eight trains…what I didn’t realize was that the front seat of the new train was broke, which made it a 16 train wait. I sort of noticed the slow going with eight riders still in front of me, so I figured I’d wait it out. Plus the rain was falling pretty good, so I figured I was staying dry in the station. Once I got on, WOW. Wet rails on a virtual all downhill ride…incredible.

After that wonderful ride, it was time to see what Adventure Express ran like in the rain. I would say “great” would be the word. Looking at my watch, there was just enough time for a couple of more rides on The Racer. I chose the backward side for my final rides, with the last ride timing perfect for the fireworks display (I really should have thanked the girls that let me go ahead of them). A perfect end to a good night.

Saturday, June 7th, was the day of Beast Buzz. For me, it started with a 7:30am alarm, before breakfast at the Waffle House across from the Microtel. After all, when at PKI, nothing beats a morning walk back to The Beast (at least in my opinion). I was pretty sure I would have to ride first, then get my Beast Buzz packet, since Jeff stated he wasn’t even waking up until 9:00am. But he did pretty good and made it by 9:30am. There were about a dozen of us for the walk back, and we could either choose following Jeffrey to Delirium, or Krista (I think that was her name) to The Beast. All, save one, voted for The Beast, but the sole Delirium person decided to follow the crowd, even though Jeffrey said he would gladly escort him to Delirium.

Once at The Beast, there was a delay due to the rain soaked wood being slippery for the inspecting crew. Most of the group bailed for other rides, but I and a trio from Texas decided to wait it out. At around 10:15am the ride operator thanked us for waiting and told us to go ahead. Nothing beats starting the day in the front seat of The Beast. I would have liked a heavier train, as it was just one of the Texas boys and myself in the front, but I’m not complaining. Of course after pulling in the line was one ride deep, which just begged for walking around for a reride, this time in the second to last seat (you knew that was coming). In fact this phenomenon happened a total of five times. Every time I came back in, there was only a one or two train wait, so I grabbed one more front seat, and two more second to last seat rides before I decided to go get a headache on Vortex.

Vortex is an RCT arrow coaster brought to life. Bad transitions, and a block break that nearly stops you. Enough said about Vortex.

From there, it was time to check out the new Spongebob ride simulator. Let me preface this with, I have never in my life seen a Spongebob cartoon. I found the pre show a bit annoying, but I think that’s because it was loud and I still had my Vortex headache. The ride itself was, in one word, “hilarious”. I honestly think this would be a great 3-D movie without the simulator part, as I found the simulator part distracting me at times. I also think it’s a great attraction and a wonderful addition to PKI. I can’t believe they don’t have it in both sides of the theater. I’m actually sorry this wasn’t ready for media day, because I really enjoyed the experience and would have liked to re-ride it a few times. However, it was time for me to meet my riding partners for the trip, as they were due to arrive at noon from “America’s Rockin’ Roller Coast”, and true to their word, ShiveringTim (henceforth, Scott) and Howard were right on time.

Some of the highlights of the day included a trip through Scooby and the Haunted Castle, where I learned the “que line dance” (trust me, you just have to experience it…oh yeah, Scott was the victor for this round of ghostbusting). The BB picnic. The impromptu tour from Jeffrey (wish I would have had a chance to get the video camera from the trunk). Sitting, drinking, and discussing coaster life at Wings for around an hour, and, of course, ERT. Most of everything in this paragraph can be read in other trip reports, so no need to rehash. Just wanted to say, ending the day with two back car night rides on The Beast has to be one of life’s great pleasures, and I only wish I lived closer than 4 ½ hours away.

After a very short sleep session it was time to start the final day, Sunday, June 8th. Of course it started with the three of us having breakfast at the Waffle House, followed by a walk back to The Beast, which opened early, allowing us to stay in our seats for a second go around (two front seat rides to start the day without leaving the train…no complaints here).

Next up was a marathon on the Flyers. No line allowed for four cycles without leaving our seats (well, to be honest, we moved to different tubs, just to try to get better snaps). I have to give credit where credit is due, or the three of us, Scott was snapping the best. Congrats on your victory.

The day ended with a viewing/ride of/on Spongebob. I was in a much better seat for this cycle, making the 3-D effects that much more incredible.

Since Howard had a previous engagement to be at, and Scott and I had long drives ahead of us, with reports of storms back home, we decided to call it a day too. We hit the shops on the way out, so that I could buy a hooded sweat shirt for my wife, and we were on the road by 11:30am.

All in all, it was an incredible trip, and I am looking forward to next year’s Beast Buzz. Thanks again to Jeff, Stephanie, Jeffrey Siebert, PKI and anyone else who was involved. You guys (and girls) done good.

------------------
Goccvp1

Scooby Doo and The Haunted Castle...MUCH more fun when you have ride partners!!!

**edited to put paragraphs back in -- they didn't make it when importing from MS Word. My appologies to those that read it in its first incarnation.**
*** This post was edited by Goccvp1 6/11/2003 7:28:25 AM ***

------------------
Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com - Sillynonsense.com
"Pray that your country undergoes recovery!" - KMFDM